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Burden of the Emerald Empire (A Legend of the Five Rings Tale)

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So, why not, I'll toss in my analysis of the women we've seen thus far. First - the general thing. We wanted Shugenja because we expect Shahai (and others) to continue trying to mess with us, and we want a wife who can defend herself against spiritual assault. We also have a hole in our heart from losing our wife, and a concubine that we're growing to love that we don't want to screw things up with. We want a wife who's going to help the former and not screw up the latter.

- Shinjo Izumi: Young, attractive, Crane-like. Has something of a political agenda, and would be very decorative. Actively desires to be selected. Not particularly strong as a shugenja - more artisan-focused. super-deferential. Personally, I see nothing good here. We don't need the influence in the courts, I don't want to get into the internal politics of the Unicorn, and she just gives off this feeling of fragility. She'd be a great wife for a different man, and she should go off and find that man and marry him.

- Ide Ami: Somewhat older, kuge, has her own lost love to deal with. Not actively trying for our hand, because she considers her chances to be poor enough that it's not worth fighting for. Diligent and pragmatic. Not troubled by an excess of deference. Honestly? I like her. The fact that we will be, at best, her second love makes it a lot less likely that she mucks up the thing we have going with Shosuro Ayumi, and will give us a point of commonality for the quietly helping each other with our respective wounds of the heart. The diligence is also nice - this is a shugenja who is not lagging in her duties, and likely not in her skills. In a similar vein, going with her means that Hisao isn't beating himself up for not loving his new wife enough - she wouldn't be wasting her chance at a happy marriage by coming to us. Basically, she's going to be the option that's particularly good for Hisao's emotional state and relationships.

- Utaku Erina: Likes horses. Really, really likes horses. Bubbly, opinionated, healer. Powerful shugenja. Apparently decent combat skills (rumored to have wrestled down a bear?). Likes defying stereotypes. Has some fire in her. The fact that she's a healer is useful, and having some combat ability of her own is good, and being a strong shugenja is good... but I don't really think that she's what we need right now. I feel like she'd have been a better match for a younger Hisao, when we wanted a wife who would shake things up, who we could deploy against intransigent nobility. Right now, though... we don't have as much need for what she has to offer, and that level of personality seems like the sort of thing that could bring her to clash badly with Ayumi.

- Iuchi Hanae: "Tremendous strength in the kami". Has preferred connections to the Jeweled City over staying int he Empire. Rather likes our body. Has some real natural talent in sparring. Loves learning and figuring out how things work, and is really quite good at it. Much more subdued than Erina, though they are quite good friends. There's a lot to like here. I feel like she would be a fantastic wife for a younger Emperor. As far as our current situation goes, her power with the Kami is really quite welcome, her insights into the Jeweled City are likely to be useful, and her aptitude towards learning is bound to come in handy at some point, but I almost feel like she's a bit wasted - we won't *be* Emperor long enough for her "learn all the things" focus to really come into its own. As far as fitting into our life? Not clear. She's certainly physically attracted to us, and has a certain lack of self-assurance that might lead to her fitting in better, but we don't really know who she is and how she acts when she *hasn't* just embarrassed herself profoundly in front of an attractive shirtless man who is also her Emperor. Still, "subdued" is probably helpful here.

- Moto Jinae: Death priest, strict, comfortable with theology, but not with social interaction. Really bad at talking. Really good at killing things. Her reaction to meeting us is primarily fear that she will screw things up. Death priests are weird. For her? If we were picking a potential wife entirely on the "will she survive Shahai's next attack" factor, she'd be a very strong contender. As it stands, though, her social vulnerabilities are just too much.

/*************/

So... looking back at the options, and in comparison... I'm not at all interested in Shinjo or Utaku. Moto's capabilities in personal defense are appealing, but the fact that she can barely express herself at all is near-crippling. Pass on that one. Iuchi Hanae has a lot going for her, and is a very strong contender. On the other hand, I just really *like* Ide Ami. I think she's the one who would be best for us personally, and our particular family shape right now. She's the one who won't want more than we can give. If Shahai were not still out there, I'd go for her in a heartbeat. On the flip side... she's diligent, and has thrown herself into her work, but we've seen no indication that she's a *particularly* strong Shugenja, or has any particular inclination towards battle skills. If someone comes after our family again (seems likely, honestly), I don't know how much she'll be able to contribute to her own defense. Iuchi Hanae is quite a bit more powerful (by the descriptions, the most powerful of the bunch) and her focus on learning how things work and taking them apart from the inside gives her a much better change of escaping from or overcoming traps of the sort that Shahai likes to throw down. Her downside is... well, she's not Ide Ami. She's young, obviously attracted to us, and inquisitive. She's going to be a lot more disruptive to our home life. It won't *necessarily* be bad, but it could very easily be, at least somewhat.

@gman391 just to verify, since nothing was said about it, how strong *is* Ide Ami as a shugenja?
 
Its hard to quantify power as a shugenja, because how shugenja work is poorly understood even by the Rokugani. Shugenja themselves do not cast spells by their own power (outside of Ishiken, but that's just a whole separate thing that really only get called shugenja because they too perform magic albeit of an entirely different type)
However, there are shugenja who hear the kami strongly, and hear the kami weakly. Those who hear them strongly have more options to work with and hence more 'power' or versatility. That's only part of the equation, the other part is the kami themselves, not all of them are equal, the kami of a mountain is much stronger than the kami of a small stone. A shugenja can hear both but only be able to convince the latter to do things.

So there are two axis of power for shugenja, how much the kami in general listen to you, and how many kami you can really deal with at a time. The latter just seems to be random chance. The former however is a lot more in depth. If you're family has relationship with a specific kami then they will generally stick with you even if you aren't particularly skilled at listening, but offerings both emotional and physical can also entice the kami to listen to you.

So there's no real numerical categorization for shugenja because the shugenja themselves affect how strong they are.

Izumi could be a lot stronger if she had gone to a school focused on air kami like Asahina or Soshi, but she didn't so she's working with a handicap. As it stands she can hear quite a lot of kami but she's not super good at enticing the water kami to work with her because of her emotional make up and gifts.

Ami is solidly above average. While she cannot hear a lot of kami, she is very skilled at getting the one she can hear to work with her, and some of them are very powerful indeed.

Erina is a bit of an an odd duck, like Ami she is above average in terms of ability to listen to the kami, but she tends to rely more on her own innate ability with the kami rather than truly enticing new ones to work with her, making her weaker than her friend.

Hanae is one of the strongest water shugenja in Rokugan with only a few competitors in the Isawa, Kitsu and Mantis. Born to a shugenja family with the best training, and the ability to understand the changing nature of Water, she gets top marks on how many she can hear, and how many she can talk to.

Jinae is strange. Her actual power with the earth kami is only average, she can listen to most, and convince most with time to listen to her. However she excels in communing with the Shi Tien Yen Wang and allowing their power to manifest in the world. If the Lords of Death are with her, she can easily throw down with Hanae for most powerful of the Unicorn shugenja, if not, the only one she can decisively defeat would be Izumi.
 
[x] Iuchi Hanae

Tentatively going with this. I'd rather move on with the quest then linger on wife selection.

She's seems good enough to me.
 
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Winter Court XIV: Four Feline Masks
  • Threadmarks
    • Ide Ami 1
    Moto Jinae 1
    Lion Brides 8
    Iuchi Hanae 6

    As you look down at Yuina, your daughter who had straight up used magic to appear inside one of the more heavily warded castles in Rokugan. There are a lot of questions you could ask. 'Like how did you do that?' 'The Void told you I was getting remarried?' and of course. 'Does your sensei know you're here?' that last one actually might be important. Probably should have Kotaro take care of it.

    But in the end, you remember the words that Kaneka said to you when it was discovered that Yuina was an Ishi.

    "Don't ask how it works, it's the void it doesn't have to explain shit."

    Which suits for this. So instead of asking any of those questions, you gesture for her to walk with you to your chambers and begin walking before answering.

    "No not yet, I intend to look at all the clans before deciding properly, but the Lion are next."

    Yuina looks up at you with this black eyes that see so much and yet so little.

    "Too bad, Jinae would have been really happy and tried so hard to be a good mother..." she says quietly.

    "...Moto-san" you say very pointedly "Is a nice woman, but the Empress needs to be able to talk to people.

    Get her sensei an etiquette tutor too while you're at it.

    Yuina shrugs.
    "Still would have made me brownies"

    A suppressed sigh from you.
    What the fuck was a brownie anyways?

    "That's not how I choose a bride. You and Minoru are important to me Yuina, but I have to think about everything else too." You say.

    Yuina nods.
    "Its why I'm glad I was born second."

    "Let's just get some sleep." You settle on.

    "Can I sleep with you?" She asks.

    "Just until we get you proper quarters." you settle on.

    You loved your daughters, but you could do without the magic.
    ----------------------------------------------

    Month of the Rat 14th day, the Scorpion Masquerade

    The large hall was filled with countless samurai, all of them wearing nondescript masks, that covered them, that included even you. The Scorpion Masquerade was a treasured tradition of the Scorpion, everyone dressed up in fine but not distinct kimono, placed concealing masks on each other and then enjoyed the evening. The idea being to allow the various samurai to get to know each other without clan affiliations poisoning the well. In practice it was usually a way to get blackmail.

    Still as the the smooth sake flows freely, and the music plays in a soft but insistent melody, it works to loosen people up. Sadly you're hear on business instead of pleasure which means not paying attention to the way that several samurai of various genders are closer to each other than strictly appropriate.

    Typically the Emperor does not go to this sort of thing as the scandal of not treating you with respect would be too great. But as always, being the Emperor means you can bend this sort of thing.

    Paneki being amused by it probably helps. He's also arranged for specific masks to go to the Lion candidates. With Kotaro's help to get portraits of them proper to remember by, you can approach undetected and get to know them without the kow-towing. You could probably do that for everyone really, but the Lion are really the only clan you think would be too overzealous to get a good handle on.

    Well that and you're relatively sure that its going to come down to the Lion or Unicorn, the other clans have their charms, but those two need to be bound closer to the throne.

    So then who was first? Glancing around the woman you see one of the masks that Paneki had arranged. This one was a simple frog mask that hid behind it one Ikoma Fumiko


    Fumiko had been an older woman as you recall, but one that had unfortunately seen herself unwed as her betrothals kept falling through, until it was discovered that her own brother had been behind it. The Kitsu trained shugenja had thrown him throw a wall after that, and the brother banished from the clan. Kotaro had said that she was somewhat gifted with the kami but nothing truly notable.

    You approach and bow to her.

    "Good evening Frog-san."

    She bows back.
    "Good evening Flower-sama. I hope you enjoy the party?"

    Her voice reminded you of a rich tapestry, all the better to paint stories with every nuance and inflection. But her gifts had been with the kami and thus...well here you were.

    "Its been interesting" You say. "The Scorpion certainly are good at making everyone loosen up. I admit that the music isn't quite to my taste."

    "Music? I play a little nothing so talented as that, so I can't say I would help much there" Fumiko says wryly. "I heard the Emperor was at this thing, but I can't seem to find him."

    "You're interested in him?" You ask.

    "He's an interesting man, besides Akodo-dono seems to love him even now despite the choices made, I'd like to know why." She says with a shrug and sips some sake.

    "Not interested in the Competition of Hearts?" You ask deciding to move on.

    "Oh I didn't say that, if given the chance I would do my best to have him in my bed before the night was over. But...I probably should be more circumspect, can only blame so much on this" She gestures with her cup.

    "Probably. Still the Empress is a high position to set your sight on, some women would be intimidated." You say.

    Fumiko shrugs.
    "Intimidation is for those who aren't getting older. I know that I might not be as young and pretty as some here, but I'm confident in my abilities with the kami and the courts, and I can offer a lot there. Besides, given the concubine, I think that our dear Emperor is not looking for love anyways and I can deal with that."

    You don't let yourself miss a beat. But the way the woman talked about Ayumi...

    "The Concubine, you refer to the Scorpion" you say.

    "Hai, don't get me wrong, if what I hear is true, then I have nothing but sympathy for her. But...I was maybe ten when the Emperor and his wife visited Kyuden Ikoma the first time. I didn't see someone who would move on so easily. Yeah it'd been a year and a half but...no I don't think that the concubine is going to make him happy in the end and she should know that." Fumiko says.

    In lieu of answering you take a sip of sake.

    "I heard that it was one of the sin swords that provoked it. Not anything else like that" You say. "But doesn't the same go for you or anyone else seeking his hand?"

    Fumiko's brown eyes glance down.
    "You'd be right, but I'm not going to delude myself into thinking I can, just content."

    "I see." You say the next thing to say is cut off as another man moves over and begins chatting Fumiko up, you use the opportunity to exit the conversation quietly.

    You do spot her looking at you speculatively as you leave though.

    Moving through at random you see the next woman you intend to meet for the evening wearing a fetching fox mask. Sparkling eyes look you over before a smirk appears in them

    Kitsu Hekima

    A woman born to a good family but with a strangely small amount of the fabled Kitsu blood in her. Despite this she had turned out to excel in her training in the physical arts, even if her skill with the kami was somewhat lesser than expected of shugenja of the Kitsu. Kotaro had noted that she was a hair's breadth from becoming a Matsu trained berserker, but only the family pride of being a shugenja had kept that from happening.

    Hekima bows to you.
    "Flower-sama." she says in a gentle soprano reminding you of bells.

    "Fox-san, pleased to meet you" you say.

    The music strikes up a fast tempo.

    "Oh I love this song, does Flower-sama wish to dance with me?" she asks.

    And like that you found yourself moving through the motions in the small space set aside for people to dance with each other, nothing more than finger touches if that as the couples moved around, anything else would be scandalous. But still she was close as her energy bubbled around her and through her causing you to move more with her than anything else.

    The song changes to a slow one where the couple is supposed to briefly clasp fingertips and then move in a circle, swaying to the time as they do so. Her fingers touch yours.

    "You're a good dancer Flower-sama." she says .

    "As are you, so energetic even at this late hour." You say dipping in time with the movement.

    "What can I say? I hate sitting still. I want to be doing something anything, and if its with a handsome samurai how can I complain?" she asks.

    "Not even if I was say a Unicorn?" you tease.

    "I would have smelled horse if you were a unicorn." she volleys back.

    "Fair enough, what about your husband?" You ask.

    Hekima falters ever so slightly at that.
    "Alas I do not have one...I hope to at the end of the year but not yet."

    "A shame, I would think Kakita rogues and Bayushi playboys would be beating down your down." You say.

    "Who says they haven't?" She replies. "But its one thing to spend a night with Benten-no-kami watching and another for marriage."

    The song shifts and you rotate the other way.

    "And the topic of marriage comes back to the Emperor does it not?" You ask.

    A slight chuckle.
    "Hai, hai, every woman wants him, if not for his looks, then for his power." Hekima says.

    "And what do you want him for?" you ask.

    "...I want him because I want to help my clan. He's good looking, strong, but in the end my clan wants him closer because despite Akodo-ue's bonds with him, so many of us feel like we should be closer, that we're out of step. Toturi-heika-shiryo took the position of Right Hand from the Lion...I never want to see that happen again." Hekima answers.

    "What about his children and concubine?" you ask tilting your head in curiosity.

    "I will do my best by them, but I don't expect them to love me, just understand me." Hekima says.

    There's a note of sadness in her words as the music stops.

    "Thank you for the dance Flower-sama, do you want to join me for food?" she asks.

    You do but as you see another mask floating by, you have to shake your head.

    "Forgive me Fox-san, I've already eaten, and this figure needs work to maintain it." You say.

    Another sparkle in her eyes.
    "Hai...well then I will hopefully see you later." She says bowing and leaving you alone on the dance floor.


    Moving away from the floor towards a smaller section of the hall where weary samurai (and to be frank passed out samurai) can rest on the provided futon, you find yourself sitting down, and stretching somewhat when someone sits beside you.

    Looking to the side you see the smiling monkey mask of Matsu Kana looking at you. Your mind's eye drawing back her portrait.


    Matsu Kana, descended from Toku-no-kami himself through his daughter, by way of her son marrying into the Matsu, it was a surprise when she was born with a powerful gift for the kami. But she took to it all the same with all the determination of her ancestor. Not naturally gifted in understanding her power, she had to work twice as hard as anyone else in the Golden Spider Dojo to learn the ways of war and the kami. But worked hard she had blooming into a young woman who had been courted by many. Kotaro noted she had refused all comers until you had put out your own decisions

    "Monkey-san" you say bowing to her.

    "Flower-sama" she says bowing back. Her voice is low a contra alto meant for whispered conversations and joyful laughs.

    Maybe you've drunk too much sake tonight.

    "Resting your feet?" You ask.

    "A little" she admits. "I've been moving since this morning, trying to find out everything I could."

    "What were you looking for?" You ask.

    "While I don't think the Emperor is here, I do know his eyes are, I wanted to know who they were so I could impress them."

    You sigh and lean back
    "Everyone seems to be quite enamored with him."

    "Oh I didn't mean it like that, I don't...think you um...oh Ancestors" she trails off.
    "You're probably really nice, and I'm sure a good samurai, just I want to help him."

    "The Emperor? What would he need help?" You ask bemused.

    "When he came to court, he was strong and powerful, he looked like an Emperor with every step, I was too intimidated to approach really. But after he left I mustered up my courage and went to see him as he went to the shrines...and saw only for a moment someone with so much weight on their shoulders. I guess it's a little presumptuous of me, but my family was with Toturi-Mikado-Shiryo when he was Toturi the Black..." Kana trails off.

    "No I understand wanting to help. The Empire is so big now, and well he's doing everything for it. But there's more to being an empress then just being someone he comes home too." You say.

    "Hai, his daughters...I lost my own mother fairly young. during the War of Dark Glass...I want to help them too." She says.

    You look at her with one eye.
    "Just help, not love or be loved?"

    "I'm not so stupid to think I can compete with a dead woman for his heart or his concubine for his bed. But if it happens it happens...he does need someone I think" Kana finishes.

    "Bold words, I suppose I will have to wish you luck and lament that all the beautiful women here are beyond my reach" You say.

    "Oh I'm sure Flower-sama could have his pick if he really wanted" Kana demures.

    You give a slight chuckle.
    "But not you."

    "...sorry?" Kana offers.

    You rise, shaking your head.
    "No don't worry, I know when I'm beat. I'm going to see if you're right about that though, thank you Monkey-san for the conversation." you say bowing.

    "Of course thank you for listening Flower-sama' She bows back.

    And then there was one. One last woman and then you could just mingle before going to your chamber to read Yuina a story. You'd missed doing that.

    Now where was Akodo Miho? Paneki had said she would be in a Lion mask.
    Out of the corner of your eye, you spot said lion mask heading out of the hall to a balcony.

    Well that could be good or bad.

    You follow after her thinking over what you know

    Shigetoshi's niece, she was like Kana born with an unexpected power in the kami, but unlike Kana, Miho seemingly loved all the kami and was good at working with them, a natural prodigy of the priestly arts. Now if only she was a good Lion, then her family would have been ecstatic with her. But she had been involved in the last Lion Unicorn war, and had decided for some reason to become a pacifist from that. Strong in her convictions, she was pious, skilled, and supposedly a great shogi player. However Miho was the loudest voice to call for peace and had remained so, much to the chagrin of her family.

    The cold winter air on the balcony kicks up snow, as the warmly bundled Lion woman looks out across the city, her mask resting on the railing. The sound of your footsteps on snow alerts her.

    Miho quickly puts the mask on and turns bowing.

    "Flower-sama" she says.
    It's hard to place her voice a soothing soprano that just straddles the edge of being a contra alto, with natural talent for music it sounds like.

    "Lion-san." You say bowing back. "What brings you out here?"

    "Ah, I just wanted some air. The Scorpion throw wonderful parties, but I'm not really comfortable with the mask on. It seems strange to hide yourself."

    "Not so strange to the Scorpion though." You point out.

    "No, not so strange to them, but I'm no Scorpion although more than a few wish I were." She chuckles.

    "The game of letters?" You ask.

    "Hai, it is cheating a little to ask the kami who wrote them, but I don't want to lead anyone on." Miho says.

    "I can only imagine, so many of us being frustrated by a bigger prize." You say.

    "The Emperor? My family insisted, but I doubt he's going to pick me." Miho admits.

    "Why's that?" You ask.

    "The Emperor, I think means well and is trying his best, but he's too likely to use force, he doesn't compromise...and I don't either, you don't put steel on steel, it just breaks both." She says.

    "So you think he'll avoid someone who can stand up to him?" You ask curious.

    "I don't know about that. But I know he views war as a tool to do what he wants...I don't."

    "...A pacifist, an Asahina I presume" You say.

    She laughs at that.
    "If only I think everyone would be happier if I was. But you're not supposed to ask Flower-sama, ruining the Scorpion's fun would be bad for all of us."

    You move to lean on the railing beside her.

    "Okay you have me there. Why the pacifism then?" you ask.

    "I saw a child die because of the last Lion Unicorn war, he didn't have to, he wasn't a samurai yet, he was filled with potential, how many more are like that...these brilliant candles snuffed out because people can't just see that war hurts them?" She asks.

    "People die every day though" You say.

    "So? We get itchy every day, that doesn't mean you'd invite mosquitoes to live with you. " Miho replies.

    "...but we still deal with mosquitoes." You reply.

    "I know, but maybe we can deal with less. I'm sorry Flower-sama, I'm not great company tonight."

    "I don't know, you're interesting at least. I'm sorry if I'm boring you" You say.

    "No, no its just, most of the time people get angry at this point..."

    "I'm not most people" you say.

    "Hai, what do you think of the Emperor?" she asks.

    Well that was a loaded question.
    "I think...I think that he's a man trying to do his best, and that the Empire is a burden that he bears...and can never put down."

    "...Hmm...that is one way to think about it. A mask and an a burden then.."

    "A mask?" You ask.

    You end up talking with Miho for a while, mostly about the Scorpion tradition of masks and how it relates to you, something no doubt that Kotaro will be amused by. By fair the longest conversation you had, but the start seems to be what sticks with you.

    As you lay in your room looking at the ceiling, hands behind your bed, you can't sleep. thoughts whirling, had you found the one?

    [] Yes (Write in name)
    [] No (Write in next clan)

    AN: Sorry busy life now, so slower updates, still hope you enjoy.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • So I am thinking either Iuchi Hanae or Matsu Kana.

    Either would be pretty good in our current situation. Powerful Shugenjas, who wouldnt involve themselves too much in politics, but are not incapable in it and are able to support us, while having either the right mindset or personality to be pretty good step moms.
     
    [X] Yes (Write in name)
    -[X] Matsu Kana

    If nothing else, then for the novelty of forcing a female Matsu to adopt into the family of the man for the..... first time in Rokugani History? The Matsu are vehement in it being the man who becomes Matsu in name normally.
     
    [X] Iuchi Hanae

    I'm choosing Hanae because she was able to get our emperor to talk with herself during her scene, for most of the other candidates of the Unicorn the emperor was guiding the conversation. Jinae would take effort and time to bring up to standard, so she isn't my prefered choice, and she appeared to have an overprotective characteristic (double edged blade that characteristic). The Lion candidates nearly all strike me as replacements for the now dead empress instead of individuals with their own merits, reading their scenes felt like reading the same scene with minor differences. Akodo Miho is the only one I liked among the lion candidates, but she seemed unfit for empress due to her pacifism.
     
    Last edited:
    gman391 said:
    "Oh I'm sure Flower-sama could have his pick if he really wanted" Kana demures.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Oh, lady, you have no idea.

    I gotta say, I love that quote.

    So... getting out and looking at this crew....

    Sirrocco said:
    So, why not, I'll toss in my analysis of the women we've seen thus far. First - the general thing. We wanted Shugenja because we expect Shahai (and others) to continue trying to mess with us, and we want a wife who can defend herself against spiritual assault. We also have a hole in our heart from losing our wife, and a concubine that we're growing to love that we don't want to screw things up with. We want a wife who's going to help the former and not screw up the latter.

    - Shinjo Izumi: Young, attractive, Crane-like. Has something of a political agenda, and would be very decorative. Actively desires to be selected. Not particularly strong as a shugenja - more artisan-focused. super-deferential. Personally, I see nothing good here. We don't need the influence in the courts, I don't want to get into the internal politics of the Unicorn, and she just gives off this feeling of fragility. She'd be a great wife for a different man, and she should go off and find that man and marry him.

    - Ide Ami: Somewhat older, kuge, has her own lost love to deal with. Not actively trying for our hand, because she considers her chances to be poor enough that it's not worth fighting for. Diligent and pragmatic. Not troubled by an excess of deference. Honestly? I like her. The fact that we will be, at best, her second love makes it a lot less likely that she mucks up the thing we have going with Shosuro Ayumi, and will give us a point of commonality for the quietly helping each other with our respective wounds of the heart. The diligence is also nice - this is a shugenja who is not lagging in her duties, and likely not in her skills. In a similar vein, going with her means that Hisao isn't beating himself up for not loving his new wife enough - she wouldn't be wasting her chance at a happy marriage by coming to us. Basically, she's going to be the option that's particularly good for Hisao's emotional state and relationships.

    - Utaku Erina: Likes horses. Really, really likes horses. Bubbly, opinionated, healer. Powerful shugenja. Apparently decent combat skills (rumored to have wrestled down a bear?). Likes defying stereotypes. Has some fire in her. The fact that she's a healer is useful, and having some combat ability of her own is good, and being a strong shugenja is good... but I don't really think that she's what we need right now. I feel like she'd have been a better match for a younger Hisao, when we wanted a wife who would shake things up, who we could deploy against intransigent nobility. Right now, though... we don't have as much need for what she has to offer, and that level of personality seems like the sort of thing that could bring her to clash badly with Ayumi.

    - Iuchi Hanae: "Tremendous strength in the kami". Has preferred connections to the Jeweled City over staying int he Empire. Rather likes our body. Has some real natural talent in sparring. Loves learning and figuring out how things work, and is really quite good at it. Much more subdued than Erina, though they are quite good friends. There's a lot to like here. I feel like she would be a fantastic wife for a younger Emperor. As far as our current situation goes, her power with the Kami is really quite welcome, her insights into the Jeweled City are likely to be useful, and her aptitude towards learning is bound to come in handy at some point, but I almost feel like she's a bit wasted - we won't *be* Emperor long enough for her "learn all the things" focus to really come into its own. As far as fitting into our life? Not clear. She's certainly physically attracted to us, and has a certain lack of self-assurance that might lead to her fitting in better, but we don't really know who she is and how she acts when she *hasn't* just embarrassed herself profoundly in front of an attractive shirtless man who is also her Emperor. Still, "subdued" is probably helpful here.

    - Moto Jinae: Death priest, strict, comfortable with theology, but not with social interaction. Really bad at talking. Really good at killing things. Her reaction to meeting us is primarily fear that she will screw things up. Death priests are weird. For her? If we were picking a potential wife entirely on the "will she survive Shahai's next attack" factor, she'd be a very strong contender. As it stands, though, her social vulnerabilities are just too much.

    /*************/

    So... looking back at the options, and in comparison... I'm not at all interested in Shinjo or Utaku. Moto's capabilities in personal defense are appealing, but the fact that she can barely express herself at all is near-crippling. Pass on that one. Iuchi Hanae has a lot going for her, and is a very strong contender. On the other hand, I just really *like* Ide Ami. I think she's the one who would be best for us personally, and our particular family shape right now. She's the one who won't want more than we can give. If Shahai were not still out there, I'd go for her in a heartbeat. On the flip side... she's diligent, and has thrown herself into her work, but we've seen no indication that she's a *particularly* strong Shugenja, or has any particular inclination towards battle skills. If someone comes after our family again (seems likely, honestly), I don't know how much she'll be able to contribute to her own defense. Iuchi Hanae is quite a bit more powerful (by the descriptions, the most powerful of the bunch) and her focus on learning how things work and taking them apart from the inside gives her a much better change of escaping from or overcoming traps of the sort that Shahai likes to throw down. Her downside is... well, she's not Ide Ami. She's young, obviously attracted to us, and inquisitive. She's going to be a lot more disruptive to our home life. It won't *necessarily* be bad, but it could very easily be, at least somewhat.

    @gman391 just to verify, since nothing was said about it, how strong *is* Ide Ami as a shugenja?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Now, let's look at the lion.

    - Ikoma Fumiko: Has some skill in the courts, is apparently not bad as a shugenja... but I see real problems between her and our concubine. That part isnt' going to fly real well.

    - Kitsu Hemika: very physical, very active, very political. Intends to do her best for the children and concubine, but doesn't have particularly high hopes

    - Matsu Kana: True Daughter of Mighty Mighty Toku! Cranks the diligence all the way up. Has dug deep into her family myth, and wants to be the sort of supportive follower-type that her ancestor Glorious Toku was.

    - Akodo Miho: She's a pacifist. We're really not, and I don't think we're intending to become one. It would not end well.

    Of those... Akodo Miho and Ikoma Fumiko look like terrible mistakes to me. Miho pretty much said that she was a poor match, and I agree with her. Fumiko is convinced that our concubine cannot make us happy, and intends to make sure that she knows that. Both are poison. Kitsu Hemika is okay, but *is* very political. She might be a good pick if we wanted to go *hard* for the Lion. I...don't think we do? Among other things, making the Lion formally be the Right Hand once more seems like the sort of thing that would be pretty damaging to our efforts with the imperial legions. Matsu Kana... I *like* Matsu Kana. She's (very) hardworking, she has a great attitude towards the thing (she's not wrong), and she's apparently pretty solid with the kami as well.

    I also think... yeah. Let's stop the searching here. We have the Lion and the Unicorn. We don't need to go through a third clan (onscreen). So... for my money, then...

    Ide Ami and Matsu Kana are in some ways mirrors. Both are hardworking, and both would, I think, be good for us emotionally. Ide Ami is older and less fired up. We both have wounds of the heart and can empathize with each other. On the other hand, she seems to be pretty satisfied with where she is. Indeed, she's turned down a number of offers, at least in part because she doesn't want to be married to someone who woudl be forced to compete with her dead fiance's memory. Matsu Kana is a lot more motivated. Between the two, Ide Ami feels like the path to a gentle retirement, while Matsu Kana feels a bit more like a path to revitalization. Do we seek to shake the world again, in our last few years as emperor? Do we want that thing? Ide Ami would, I think, be a gentler path, while Matsu Kana would be a more energetic one. I don't think either side of that is necessarily inherently better. It's more a matter of goals.

    Iuchi Hanae is the other of the unicorn that I rather liked at the time - the somewhat insecure, learning-focused, powerful-in-the-kami, hot-for-our-body option. Again, Iuchi Hanae would have been a *great* first wife... but she wasn't on that list. She also had some extra insight into the Jewelled City, which was cool. Her attitudes towards our existing family are somewhat less certain.

    I think I'd be reasonably happy with any of them. Between them, though, Iuchi Hanae is a bit too much of a roll of the bones for me with respect to family dynamics, and it feels like it'd be a bit of a waste. Ide Ami... I suppose I don't feel like we're ready to retire just yet. As such, given that there's the option

    [x] Yes
    -[x] Matsu Kana
     
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